Chapter four

I hesitated. Not sure what to do for a moment. Then I looked towards the door at all the panicked people. They were staring at Percy, shocked, as he jumped out the window. Then they noticed me for the first time. I quickly ran for the window before they could question me. I could come back to explain later. I needed to get some answers before he disappeared again.

Once out the window I saw Percy running out of the alley and I followed him. He was so fast. Geez how many times had something like this happened to him? I could barely keep up with the guy.

"Percy, wait up!"

I realized, a bit late, that my call had been unnecessary. He had already stopped. Not to wait for me though. He had run into a friend or something. The first thing I noticed about her was her eyes. Stormy gray eyes that were filled with a startling intelligence. This girl was not someone it would be wise to mess with, that was for sure. She had her blond hair up in a neat ponytail and she was wearing jeans with an orange t-shirt that said Camp Half-Blood on it. Half-Blood. She was one too.

The girl stared at me. Then at the school. I guess she was putting to and to together. She gave me a glare. The way she looked at me I felt like a puzzle she was trying to solve. And she was frustrated because she was missing a piece.

She said to Percy. "What did you do this time? And who is this?" She didn't even sound surprised. Apparently this did happen to him a lot.

"Oh, Rachel- Annabeth. Annabeth- Rachel. Um, she's a friend I guess." He didn't sound too sure about that. He looked kind of awkward as he introduced us. I wondered if Annabeth was his girlfriend. I was surprised at the surge of jealousy that sprang up at the thought. I had no right to feel jealous. I needed to focus on more important things. Like monsters and demigods for instance.

"Hi." I said to Annabeth quickly. Then I looked at Percy. "You are in so much trouble. And you still owe me an explanation!" Police sirens rang in the distance. Darn it! He wouldn't have enough time to explain.

"Percy. We should go." Did I just imagine the icy tone? She sounded pissed. I strongly suspected some jealousy on her part. I tried to hide a smile. Yup, she liked him alright. I was determined to find out more though so I rushed on.

"I want to know more about half-bloods. And monsters. And this stuff about the gods." I grabbed his arm and wrote my number on his hand with my marker. I conveniently always had one on me.

"You're going to call me and explain, okay? You owe me that. Now get going."

I was nothing if not forward.

"But-" I interrupted him.

"I'll make up some story. I'll tell them it wasn't your fault. Just go!"

I ran back to the school before he could respond.